That’s our message to jittery New Yorkers who might be tempted to flee the city in the wake of the World Trade Center attacks and a local economy that’s struggling to get back on track.

But it’s not just a point of civic pride. When it comes to great housing, Gotham glitters with undiscovered gems, lesser known neighborhoods where you can find everything you would ever want in a home: greenery, wide-open spaces, large apartments and affordable rents, to name just a few attractive qualities.

And all can be had right here in town.

Even before the disaster, the combination of a softening rental market and the swankification of some up-and-coming areas has made for terrific housing opportunities, even in Manhattan.]

“Rents have dropped significantly on the Upper East Side since last year,” said Gordon Golub, vice president of Citi Habitats. “They’re down 15 to 20 percent.”

In particular, there are some real finds in the area east of Second Avenue around 90th Street.

Likewise, a look at other small slices of neighborhoods throughout the city shows some tantalizing options.

Tops on our list: an area in Brooklyn dubbed Columbia Street Waterfront; leafy Sunnyside Gardens in Queens; and Hudson Heights way up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Here’s an open-house tour.

COLUMBIA STREET

WATERFRONT

Where the Buttermilk Channel meets the East River, between Carroll Gardens and Red Hook, you’ll find Columbia Street Waterfront, an area that used to be called Red Hook.

“It’s an interesting mix between an old-style family neighborhood and a place with funky coffee shops opening up and nice restaurants,” said Rachel Hays, 32, who went apartment hunting in the area recently.

One of the notable newer eateries is Kotobuki Bistro at 192 Columbia St. The menu features sushi and Thai delicacies. Owner Eric Ong and his family have lived in the area for years.

“We feel like this neighborhood has changed a lot,” said Ong.

A modern art gallery is slated to open soon at 203 Columbia St., near the Let Them Eat Cake café.

Those able to enjoy their morning coffee here include the group that rented a three-bedroom apartment on President Street near Van Brundt for $2,000.

The apartment features 1½ bathrooms, hardwood floors and space for a washer and dryer.

At 108 DeGraw St., a one-bedroom place with a city view rented recently for $1,200.

There are some drawbacks, though. As you walk from Columbia Street to the water’s edge, the residential buildings cede to rough industrial structures and untidy parking lots.

And the closest subway is the F-train stop at Carroll Street, a 10- to 15-minute walk away.

SUNNYSIDE GARDENS

On Skillman Avenue near 51st Street, just a block from the peaceful planned community Sunnyside Gardens, there’s a new coffee shop: Cyber Café.

As any good gentrification watcher knows, there is nothing more telling about the direction of a neighborhood than the quality of its coffee shops. If a place called Cyber Café is opening, it’s a sure sign real estate values are heading higher.

It doesn’t hurt that the planners of Sunnyside Gardens built such lovely one- and two-bedroom homes and garden apartments in the 1920s.

A three-bedroom apartment on 50th Street recently rented by three friends who work for financial-services companies includes a first-floor view of actual, real trees, a renovated kitchen with new appliances, new wood floors and two bathrooms – all for $1,500.

A technical director for a television show that tapes in the city rented a two-bedroom garden apartment with a sunken living room and high ceilings for the same price in this Queens enclave – which is convenient to Manhattan by the 7 train.

HUDSON HEIGHTS

Up on West 187th Street between Ft. Washington and Pinehurst Avenue, there’s a bar and restaurant called Bleu that – with its exposed brick walls, velvety couches and curvy bar – wouldn’t be out of place in the East Village.

Since Bleu’s patrons gladly pay $4 for pints of Sierra Nevada, you can be sure that this neighborhood known as Hudson Heights is moving up in the world.

Just ask the bartender, 29-year-old Scott Goodchild. He and his wife, Heather, a midwife, recently moved into an airy 800-square-foot one-bedroom on Ft. Washington near 187th. They pay $1,080 and love the quiet neighborhood.

“When you come home from a crazy day downtown, it feels like you’re coming to a whole different world, even though it’s in Manhattan,” Goodchild said.

Sundays can be spent in lush Fort Tryon Park and at the Cloisters museum.

The main drawback here is that besides Bleu, there isn’t much going on at night.

YORKVILLE

Speaking of the coffee shop as neighborhood-quality barometer, a new Starbucks is opening at 90th Street and First Avenue. It’s a section called Yorkville, though the popularity of that name seems to be fading.

Before they open a new location, the folks who run Starbucks usually research whether or not an area’s residents are the young-and-busy types willing to pay $3.75 for a cup of coffee.

“It is absolutely getting younger up there because you can do a bit better [rent-wise] than the rest of the city,” said realtor Jo Siegel, who works the area with her partner, Diane Kramer, for MLBK International Realty.

Deals there are. A 29-year-old stockbroker just rented a 675-square-foot one-bedroom in a postwar elevator building on 91st Street between First and Second avenues for $1,300.